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The London Borough of Tower Hamlets has achieved the Soil Association’s top award for catering, the Gold Food for Life Catering Mark, which recorgises the use of organic ingredients and freshly cooked food in 20,000 meals to primary and nursery school children daily.

Steve Logan, quality assurance & performance development officer at Tower Hamlets, said: “Choosing to progress our Catering Mark to gold threw up sourcing challenges in finding organic halal meat.

“However, we started working with Catering Mark Supplier members the Rhug Estate and found they could provide all we needed and more.

“I visited the farm and was really impressed by the standards that the animals were being reared to and the passion and knowledge of the staff.

“With their help we have worked with butcher William Whites to develop a halal lamb burger and we are now also using halal chicken sausages and meatballs produced with meat sourced from the Rhug Estate.

“I’m really pleased with the quality of the organic products, which are leaner and tastier than the products we were previously using, and our pupils love them!”

Tower Hamlets has reported an increase in school meal take up, partly helped by the free school meals for all under 11’s initiative, and with the rise in meal take up has been able to adjust its budgets to accommodate more organic produce.